My Independent Girl

My dear Mekayla has always been an independent girl. Probably from the moment she was born she had exhibited her independent streak but it couldn't have been more evident when she attended her 1st day of preschool. Now don't get me wrong. We had prepped her for school for months. We'd taken her on several tours of various schools and on the Friday before school started we went in for Drop In Day where she got to see her class again and meet her teacher, Ms Judy.

That Monday morning, as we walked into her class, she just ran into the room and picked up the 1st toy she could find. Mommy and Daddy were clearly forgotten, left to put away her lunch box for her and stand all lonesome in the corner of the classroom taking pictures of this momentous occasion. After about 10 minutes (of which she barely noticed we were there), she ran up with a toy to show us. It was by this point we had to leave however. They advise us not to stay too long - messes up the whole transition to preschool thing - Transition? What transition? Did you not just see how she ran into the room and made herself at home???

Anyway, here came the big goodbye:

Mommy and Daddy: Okay Mekayla, we have to go now. Have a good day at school.
Mekayla (barely looks up from her toy): Okay. Bye.
Mommy and Daddy: How about some hugs and kisses?
Mekayla: Okay. (Provides momentary consolation hugs and kisses)
Mommy and Daddy: Bye.
Mekayla: Bye. (Still playing with her toy)

As I'm driving away, I'm suddenly hit with the realization that my big girl is not in the car with me. It's awfully quiet without her little chatter (she talks non-stop these days - as her teacher will attest later). So I did the only thing I knew to do. I drove to Cupertino to Sheng Kee bakery to get 4 red bean buns and then to the quilt store for some fabric therapy. It was a very poignant moment when I discovered that I was missing her more than I thought I would. I thought that I would be glad for the break from having two of them anchored to my ankles constantly but I missed having her around not matter how irritating she could be sometimes. Miss tough Momma was not so tough after all. And you know what? Miss Independant Mekayla did just great at school. To find out more about what it was like when we picked her up, go visit Carter's blog.

Today is Friday and she has had three awesome days at school and loves it. She comes home singing the songs she's learned that day at school. Day 1 and 2 was "Jesus loves me this I know..." and today it was "Please shine down on me" as well as "Head and shoulders knees and toes". She has developed such a wonderful confidence in those 3 short days that I am continually amazed and indescribably proud of her. I'm so happy with the preschool we picked for her (Achiever Christian School) and thrilled that I can leave her there and know she is in very good hands and treated with care and handled with the grace she needs.

Regarding Mommy's quilt therapy, I got nice hugs from the dear ladies at Prairie Queens Quilt shop when I walked in. It wasn't really fabric therapy. I actually had to get some red fabric for a Civil War quilt I'm making for a very special Civil War fan - more on that and the other quilts I'm currently working on later. BTW, I'm totally loving this new hobby of mine and the "Back to Basics" class I'm taking with Debbie and Mary at Prairie Queens. Learning soooo much. Thanks ladies.

Chicken and Eggs According to Mekayla

At bedtime tonight after her story:

Mekayla: Mommy, do you like chickens?
Mommy: Yes. Chickens give us eggs. I like to eat eggs.
Mekayla: Oh. But we can't eat bird eggs. They have birds in them. And I already ate the chicken eggs.
Mommy: Yeah. Okay. We don't eat bird eggs. They have birds in them. But we can eat chicken eggs. They don't have chicks in them.
Mekayla: Oh. They don't have chicks in them. Yeah we can eat chicken eggs. We let the chicks hop out first then we eat the eggs...

Hmm... Okay.

Nadia Walking Video

Here's the video I promised of Nadia walking. It's on Carter's blog. By the way, is is quite the pro at walking now and is even trying to run. So much for baby steps.

Just 3 Words

I just have 3 important words to say....

Nadia walked today!!!!

Hooray!!!! This happened while we were at Aunty Abbey and Uncle Andrew's house. We are so proud of you little baby girl. Video courtesy of Aunty Abbey's camera coming soon. (Bad Mommy left hers at home on accident)

Potty Training

So you know how life can sometimes be described as a series of successes and failures? Well, today was a combination of both. We’ve been trying (on and off) for a while to get Mekayla potty trained. Now, my older daughter (in case you don’t know) is one of those strong-willed persons. She has one of those “I’ll do it when I’m ready and not a moment sooner no matter how much you plead, beg, cajole or bribe me even though I know perfectly how to” attitudes. And of course, she has decided to assert this one admirable but frustrating trait with her potty training which is probably why her dad and I have not really pushed it on her and have been working with her on and off.

Well, over the weekend, while I was at the Women of Faith conference, Daddy seemed to have made some headway with her potty training. It involved letting her walk around the living room sans pants with a potty accessible and within close proximity. Well, guess what? On Friday, she knew when she had to stop playing, go sit on her potty and pee on her own!!! Wow!!! I was so impressed when I got home Friday afternoon. Saturday however was a “I think I will assert my free will today” kind of days where she ended up peeing on her Rainbow bear and in the corner of the living room, anywhere else but in the potty. Oh well, successes and failures, right?

So, it’s now Monday morning… Day 3 of potty training adventures… (Sunday doesn’t count – it’s hard to potty train with church and lunch and all – I can’t very well, let her walk around town without pants or diapers on) I am up in the study checking some stuff up on the good ole Internet when I hear peels of laughter… I hear Mekayla laughing…. Nadia laughing… I think “Oh cool! They are having fun together… That’s so sweet.” More Mekayla laughing… Nadia laughing… Mekayla laughing…. Nadia laughing…. Hmm…. I’d like to think that they are playing some fun innocent game together but really, I should know better by now. I’m starting to hear red alert sirens and I think “Oh God, what am I going to find when I turn around the corner and look down?”

This is the scene that greets me… Nadia is standing, holding on to the coffee table, with both her feet in the potty. Only, the potty is not empty like I’d hope. Mekayla is standing off to the corner (out of reach of the splash zone) laughing and watching her sister happily wade in her ankle-deep contribution. Ordinarily I would have been thrilled for there to be light yellow liquid in that pristine white potty but not at this moment. I am inundated with conflicting thoughts. I want my older daughter to have had a successful potty episode but at the same time I pray to God that this is not one of those times. God doesn’t always answer all our prayers. I know He has been known to raise the dead and part the Red Sea but I have yet to see Him remove pee from a potty. Both girls look up at me. They have expressions on their faces like “This is fun Mommy!!! But now that you are looking at me with that look of horror in your face, I’m not so sure anymore.” The following conversation ensues with my oldest:

Mommy: Mekayla, did you go potty? (Stupid question… I know what the answer is… But I ask it anyway hoping for a different answer)
Mekayla: (Gleefully) Uh-huh….
Mommy: (Rushes down the stairs) Oh dear… (Nadia splashes some more) Nadia!!! No!!!!
For the record, this is not the appropriate response when your potty training child just successfully peed in the potty.
Mommy: (Picking up Nadia) I mean good job Mekayla but it is not good for Nadia to play with the pee...
Mekayla: But why?
Mommy: (Oh God save me – I’m walking to the bathroom while dangling Nadia in front of me) Because it is dirty and it’s making everything wet. Oh and good job on peeing in the toilet Mekayla.
Mekayla: Oh….

I now begin the process of washing Nadia’s hands and feet with copious amounts of soap and water whilst simultaneously keeping her from tasting the potentially pee laden soap suds. My next 10 minutes includes the following flurry of activity (not necessarily in this particular order because I can’t quite remember all I did in the aftermath of said destruction)… Dry Nadia’s hands and feet. Grab Clorox wipes. Put down Clorox wipes. Wipe down Mekayla (with baby wipes, not Clorox wipes). Remember to give Mekayla reward of Cookie Monster sticker and 4 M&Ms… Trade out extra brown M&M for blue M&M per recipient’s request… Pick up Clorox wipes. Walk into living room. Ask Mekayla where her sister is wondering what other trouble she is getting into. Wipe up little kiddy chair, coffee table and surrounding 5 feet radius around potty, wishing pee was more viscous and did not splash so well. Pick up pee laden potty and carry quickly to bathroom. Ask Mekayla where her sister is again. Wash potty. Wrestle with bottle of Clorox wipe to get 2 sheets out to wipe down potty. Quickly put down potty so I can grab Nadia and keep her from chewing on the rim of the toilet bowl… Wash Nadia’s hands again… Prevent Nadia from eating more pee laden soap suds… Return potty to living room for future potty training episodes… And it is only 10:30am.

I call Carter to relate all this to him and he suggests that this is a good one for the blog. My response is, "And let the world know what a failure I am as a mom??!!!" My ever optimistic husband’s response? It has some success in it too.

I’d like to say tune in for more potty training adventures but in all seriousness, I hope not. Till next time, remember, God has a sense of humor… We should too.

Waking Sleeping Beauty

This occurred while putting Mekayla to bed one night…

Mekayla: (holding her Cinderella tiara) Put on the crown Daddy…. You are Sleeping Beauty.
Daddy: Oh good idea. I like to be Sleeping Beauty. (Any reason to take a nap, right? Lays on bed and pretends to fall asleep).
Mekayla: Mommy, Daddy’s Sleeping Beauty. He’s sleeping.
Mommy: I know. Would you like to wake Sleeping Beauty up?
Mekayla: Yeah.
Mommy: How do you wake Sleeping Beauty up? What do you do?
Mekayla: You say “Hello!”
Mommy: (laughing with Daddy) You say “Hello”?
Mekayla: Uh-huh!
Mommy: (still chuckling) Okay. Go wake Sleeping Beauty up.
Mekayla: ( crawls up onto Daddy and gets real close to his cheek and yells) Hello!!!!
Mommy: Is Sleeping Beauty awake now?
Mekayla: Uh-huh…

Yeah I’ll bet. I don’t think even the real Sleeping Beauty could sleep through that wake up call. But I think the Prince would have had a hard time convincing her to marry him after that.

Ni Hao

Mekayla watches Ni Hao Kai Lan, an educational preschool program on Noggin from time to time. It’s a bilingual (Mandarin and English) show about a little Chinese girl who lives with her grandfather and has several little animal friends. (Think a Chinese version of Dora the Explorer) Anyway, Kai Lan starts the program each day with a friendly, “Ni hao, I’m Kai Lan.” (Translated to “Hello, I’m Kai Lan.”) Each episode, she introduces a few new Chinese words to the kids watching and it’s a nice way to expose Mekayla to some Mandarin. Well, I’ve been practicing some of these words with Mekayla as we learn them and today’s conversation went like this:

Mommy: Mekayla, what is “mao tze”?
Mekayla: “Mao tze” is for hat!
Mommy: What is “thor sie”?
Mekayla: “Thor sie” is for slipper!
Mommy: What is “ni hao”?
Mekayla: “Ni hao” is for Kai Lan! That is what Kai Lan says…

Oh boy.

Nadia Update

Nadia is moving up in the world. Well, she's moving around at least. She is starting to crawl. It's not quite a real crawl yet. She will get up on her hands and knees but when she tries to move around it is more like a soldier crawl and it doesn't stop her from getting what she wants either.

Tomorrow morning, bright and early is her 1st haircut. The kid was born with a full head of hair that grows like a weed. So, to prevent it from looking any more like a mullet than it already is, we decided that it was time for her to get a haircut. Wish us luck. She seems to have a slight sensitivity to new people and especially Caucasian women (or so we notice). Why Caucasian women specifically? We are not sure but we think it's because all the women who have really bonded with her so far are Asian... She has no problems with Caucasian men (well, obviously because of Daddy) and there are some exceptions to the Asian/Caucasian thing but it seems like a general rule of thumb. She is definitely wary of strangers which won't help the hair cutting process since she has never met the hair dresser and Gail, the hair dresser happens to be a Caucasian female. We'll let you know how it goes and perhaps post some crying baby photos too. :)

Sharing

As she gets older and plays more with other kids, Mekayla has had to learn to share more. The arrival of her sister made it even more important that she learn this. Well, it has been a journey for us teaching her how to share and today, it came full circle.

Mommy (sits down to eat some chocolate)...
Mekayla (comes up to Mommy): Mmm chocolate Mommy? Have some chocolate?

Now mind you, Mekayla has already had some chocolate tonight. Now it is Mommy's turn.

Mommy: This is Mommy's chocolate. You had some already.
Mekayla: No this is Mekayla's chocolate.
Mommy: No this is Mommy's chocolate.
Mekayla: Mekayla have some chocolate Mommy? Please? Share....

Mekayla got some more chocolate tonight.

This One's For Kong Kong and Po Po

This post is for Kong Kong and Po Po. Merry Christmas.

This conversation happened today but similar ones to this have happened in the past (not so much the one about breakfast - that one is a bit weird, but everything else):

Mekayla: This is my breakfast (shows me a bowl with what vaguely resembles a burger bun and a fish).
Mommy: Oh? What are you having for breakfast?
Mekayla: Fish! And Ham!
Mommy: Fish and ham... Wow.
Mekayla: Where's Po Po?
Mommy: Po Po is in Malaysia with Kong Kong.
Mekayla: In Malaysia with Kong Kong?
Mommy: Yup.
Mekayla: Miss Po Po.... And Kong Kong.
Mommy: You miss Po Po and Kong Kong?
Mekayla: Yeah. Go visit them.
Mommy: You want to go visit them? (Mekayla nods) Okay. We'll go visit them soon.
Mekayla: (nods) Okay. (And goes on her merry way out the kitchen)

The Sweetest Things

Mekayla has just blossomed into the sweetest girl.... She will just throw her arms around me from time to time and give me the biggest and loveliest hugs and kisses. Then she'll look at me and say, "I love you too, Mommy"... Oh it just so totally melts my heart.

Sometimes she'll wish you well and happiness in the little way she knows how which is to wish you Happy Birthday. I'll give her a hug and she'll hug me back and say, "Happy Birthday Mommy". She associates birthdays with good things so we figured her wishing you Happy Birthday was equivalent to her wishing you good things and blessings.

The other day, she just started wishing me "Happy Holidays! Happy Holidays!" She must have heard it and picked it up somewhere then decided to repeat it. It was a pleasant surprise.

Lately, when Nadia is fussing or crying, she will sometimes go up to her and sing her a song. Nadia loves it and will often stop crying or fussing enough to listen to her sing.

These are such beautiful, precious moments I wanted to put down here to cherish. It is someplace I can always come back to revisit them.

Don't Open Till Christmas

We've had a lot of Christmas activities for Mekayla lately. Now that she is talking more and more aware of the things around her, she has really had a chance to absorb a lot of the Christmas things going on around her.

For starters, there was the Trader Joe's Christmas Advent calendar that we got her. It counts down the days till Christmas with chocolate. I cannot think of a yummier way to anticipate Christmas than with chocolate. So everyday (except some days where we forget), she gets to countdown the days till Christmas with a little piece of chocolate. Initially, she didn't get it and after the one piece, she would ask for "More chocolate... Need more chocolate." I like how she says she "needs" more chocolate... No, we do not starve her to death. It is a rather small piece of chocolate but no, she does not "need" more chocolate. Now that Christmas is almost here, she's finally getting the hang of it and understands that she only gets one piece of chocolate a day. Just in case though we still store it out of her reach, on top of the china cabinet.

Her 2nd exciting Christmas activity was helping us put up the Christmas tree lights and ornaments. Earlier that day, Daddy went up on the roof to put up the Christmas lights around the house... All I heard for the first five minutes was, " Careful Daddy.... Careful." Very thoughtful of her. It didn't help that earlier, she watched Handy Manny on Playhouse Disney and saw a very bad example of Mr Lophard putting up Christmas lights the wrong way. So, I guess her extreme concern was warranted. Since the tree when up, we've had a good lesson in not touching the ornaments (she got all the low hanging ones and for some reason tossed them into the middle of the tree???) and definitely not giving them to Mei Mei to chew on....

Then the presents appeared. Oh how we loved the presents and how very exciting that was... Ever since her 2nd birthday, she has loved, loved, loved presents... If you give her a present, she will have an adorable, surprised look on her face and say something like, "A present? For me? Wow!" Well, with the presents came another lesson.... And that was "Don't open them till Christmas". Well, that lesson was learned well one day when I came downstairs to hearing Nadia screaming from her activity bouncer and the sound of tissue paper being removed from a paper bag. Mekayla was opening one of Nadia's presents and proceeded to play with the little elephant in it that sings. Nadia was not thrilled that she didn't get to participate, Mekayla was just so fascinated by that singing elephant and Mommy was in shock, running down the stairs before further damage was done to the present. All was saved and the present is now safely back under the tree (the bag is a bit beat up from Nadia kicking on it recently) but Mekayla got a good lesson that day about not opening presents till Christmas. It is the cutest thing now because if you ask her to tell you about the presents, she will say, "Don't open till Christmas! Don't open till Christmas!" She has just been so wonderful about it and so very, very patient too. She keeps saying "Don't open till Christmas" but I don't think she has any idea when Christmas is! She is showing great restraint I think.

Now Nadia on the other hand is different. Mekayla was not this mobile her 1st Christmas so we didn't have the "problems" we have now. Nadia has been rolling towards the tree and the presents almost anytime she is able to. She has tried chewing on the gift tags and has mangled two bows on Daddy's presents. It's a good thing Daddy doesn't mind. We have resorted to bolstering the presents with my very many throw pillows. It is not pretty but functional and I think Carter is glad that those throw pillows are finally getting put to good use. As far as he is concerned, they don't serve any other purpose but to take up valuable seating space on the couches.

Lastly, we've been trying to introduce Mekayla to Santa Claus. We've gone past Santa in the mall but she's been kind of bashful so I've held out taking her to see Santa... I'd like for her 1st experience to be a good one so when she's ready I figure she'd let us know. We also told her that since she's been a good girl this year, Santa will be bringing her a present for Christmas. We've tried asking her what she would like Santa to bring her and this is what we get, "A present. A bigger present (points to a rather large present already under the tree that we've told her is for her)." Hmm...

Next year, I am thinking of getting a little toy Nativity and teaching her about Jesus and Christmas. I've mentioned to her that Christmas is Jesus' birthday but she doesn't quite get it yet. The church nursery has a little toy Nativity that Pat brought out for the children and Mekayla was very fascinated with the little Baby Jesus in the "crib" (aka manger). She even rocked Baby Jesus to sleep and sang Rock-a-bye Baby to him. It was most adorable.

I think she's going to have a blast Christmas Day. She really understands and appreciates presents now and it will be so much fun to see her reaction and experience this through her eyes. I am loving this stage in her growth. She is so interactive and says the darnest and sweetest things. It is truly a wonderful time. Meanwhile, while I still can, I will keep getting a kick out of getting her to say, "Presents.... Don't open till Christmas!"

She Growls

Nadia has always been my vocal baby. With Mekayla, she hardly cried or made a peep but Nadia has no qualms telling you how she feels. Lately, she has been growling. Yes people, growling. A deep from within her chest guttural growl... She will be cooing and making the cutest baby sounds then suddenly, GRRROWWWLLLLLL..... It is the most astonishing sound you will hear from such a sweet looking child. And just in case you don't believe it, today we captured it on video... I'll post it here when I get a chance. Just thought I'd share that bit here.

Getting Dress According To Mekayla

Mommy (dressing Nadia): Nadia, don't eat your socks. (takes socks out of Nadia's mouth and hands)
Mekayla: Yah Nadia. Don't eat socks. Socks on your feet, not in your mouth.
Mekayla: Socks on your feet. Stinky feet.

Bubble Baths and Birthday Parties

Mekayla attended her 1st birthday party at Chuck E Cheese on Saturday. Boy was it a trip. Mommy is still recovering. That place was packed to the brim and as soon as our group of birthdays was done, they "ushered" us out and prepped for the next group. It's a birthday party factory! Anyway, Mekayla had a blast which prompted her to announce on the Tuesday morning after that, "I want birthday parties everyday!" Who wouldn't want pizza, birthday cake, games and a goody bag everyday?

Then tonight she requested a bubble bath. This is something we've added into bath time because they are just plain fun, fun, fun! However, tonight we were already half way through bath time so it was kind of too late. She was not very happy at that which led her to announce, "I like bubble baths soooo much." In case we didn't know and forgot to give her one tomorrow night I think.

All I Want for Christmas

Well, all Nadia wants for Christmas is..... her 2 front teeth!!! Well, we don't know if that's what she wants but she sure is getting it. Her 1st bottom right front tooth popped out on Monday (the 8th) and it looks like the 2nd one is not too far behind. We were totally clueless (probably too distracted with everything that was going on) and suddenly we had a tooth. It all makes sense now why she was not sleeping so well last week. Duh... Mommy and Daddy need to pay more attention.

Strange Day

Today started off like any other Sunday with breakfast, church and then lunch with the Clarks. However, it ended on a rather peculiar note. At about 6:15pm we were about to go give Mekayla her dinner. She was downstairs in the living room watching The Backyardigans or so we thought. We heard Nadia fussing in her play area so Carter went down to check. Here's what he found:

Mekayla was lying in her little chair in front of the TV fast asleep. Nadia had rolled over to Mekayla and was chewing and sucking on her (Mekayla's) hair... Her hair was soaked and it did not even wake her up! Nadia was fussing because she had lost grip with Mekayla's hair and could not get it back. It was very very peculiar.

Now we had to come up with an alternate plan because technically, Mekayla was due to be fed dinner and put to bed in 45 minutes. We decided to let her nap a bit (so she does not turn into a crazed Tasmanian Devil) and feed her then put her to bed later. Boy I hope she does not decide to run laps in her crib tonight like she did last night at 9 pm. Is it a full moon by any chance or simply the holidays making them a little nuts?

New Blogger In The House

We have a new blogger in the house... Literally. My dear hubby has started his own blog. Apparently (to quote him) it seems that I was having so much fun with mine that he decided to start his own. Check out his musings here.

Oh his 2nd post is a very cute video of Mekayla singing Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. I'd mentioned in an earlier blog that she had started singing it. Now we have it immortalized on video.

Behind These Hazel Eyes

The mystery of Nadia's eye color has been solved. For the longest time, her eye color has stumped the best of us. In a darker room, they appeared brown (like her parents). However, in sunlight, they would show shades of blue and grey but with some brown in the center. So very pretty but we had no idea what it was really or what to call it. Everyone who saw her would say "Oh she doesn't have brown eyes." or "Wow she's got bluish eyes." We thought it was something like blue-grey or grey-blue eyes but no one knew what color to describe it.

Well, finally, we were forced to figure it out for sure since we were applying for her passport so she can fly back with us to Malaysia and enjoy the family festivities this coming Chinese New Year. Turns out, she has hazel eyes. Boy I would never have guessed. I figured that hazel colored eyes would be the color of well, hazelnuts! Not a darker brown like what Mekayla or I have but a lighter brown like maybe the color of peanut butter or something. Duh... Here's what Wikipedia had to say about it.

Thankfully, it had the picture on the right because I would never have figured it out simply from the description. Surprisingly, Nadia's eyes have coloring just like the picture on the right. I do love the caption underneath: "Some eye colors are too mixed to identify properly, and are identified as hazel for simplicity's sake." I think that pretty much sums it up.... She has hazel eyes.

Po Po's Here!!!

Yay for Mekayla and yay for Mommy! I think I can sleep in for a bit now... (well, we'll see if Nadia lets me). Mekayla was very excited. Somehow, she sensed all the preparation and knew that Po Po was coming. Yesterday, she said something along the lines of "Po Po on plane. Fly fly. Po Po go shopping.". That totally cracked me up. Yes, she knows her Po Po very well. Po Po is going to go shopping. Or maybe she thinks Po Po has been on a really, really long shopping trip and is now coming back to see her. Scarily it may not be all that unrealistic. :p

And There She Rolls...

Nadia has started rolling. This has taken a process of about 3 weeks now. She was initially our mystery mover. We would put her down on the floor in her Gymini and when we would come back several minutes later, she would not be in the same place we left her. Somehow, someway, she moved! And no, Mekayla was not picking her up and moving her just to confuse her parents for her amusement.

Then came the mystery roller. We would put her down on her back in her Gymini and minutes later we could return to find her on her belly. Mysterious... Often times, we could return and find her stuck on her belly, fussing because she did not know how to roll back onto her back. This happened when she was about 3-1/2 months old. We could never ever see her roll because when we were around, she was so intent on looking at us, that she would forget about rolling. However when left alone to her own devices, she was a kickin' and a movin' and a rollin'. So, at this point, we knew she could roll but never ever saw it.

Next came her 4 month pediatrician appointment. We told the Dr that we thought she could roll because we would leave her on her back and come back and she would be on her belly. However, we weren't "sure" since we hadn't actually seen it for ourselves. Boy did we feel like idiots. 2 seconds after that conversation, she proceeded to roll and roll and roll and almost rolled off the examination table 3 times!! So I guess now, we've seen it!!!

At this point, we had seen her roll from her back to her belly and attempt rolling over to her back (but not a full roll since I had to stop her from rolling off the table). We get home and she gets momentary brain fart. She will roll onto her belly and get stuck. Then scream for one of us to go over and roll her to her back again. For several days, she would get "stuck" this way. I'm like well, you got onto your belly which is the hardest. Why can't you get back on your back? It's suppose to be easier.

Well, today, she did it all. She finally figured out the belly to back thing and she was off! She rolled and rolled and rolled till she got stuck on Norbert's toy basket - she only goes 1 way. So now, we have a little roller girl in our house. I suppose she will still be getting stuck till she learns to roll the other way.

Stating the Obvious?

Lately, little Miss Mekayla has been a tad bit particular about the temperature of her bath water. Her Daddy will set it and fill it and then as she gingerly climbs into the bath, she may occasionally inform him that it's too hot. However, the other night, the following conversation ensued:

Daddy: Okay, get in the bath. Be careful.
(Mekayla gets in.)
Daddy: So, how's the water?
Mekayla: It's wet.

Hmmm. Keen observation by that one...

Pizza Pizza!

Wednesday night was build your own pizza night in the Hamilton household. This was something that Carter did with his family when we was a boy and we thought it would be a fun thing to do ourselves too. Here's how it's done Mekayla style.

1. First we flour the surface we roll out the pizza dough on and our nose (very important step).

2. Then we all take turns to roll out the pizza dough. Here's Daddy's turn, then Mommy and Mekayla's turn. Mei mei watches from Mommy's new Libby Baby sling wishing she could eat pizza too.

3. Pizza's ready to be put in the oven. Can you guess which one is mine, Mommy's and Daddys?

4. While we wait for the pizza to cook, we take some cute pictures and eat some pizza dough. Don't forget to continuously flour our faces and the entire kitchen while we're at it.

5. Woot! Pizza's finally done!

6. Now we eat and enjoy! Yummm good pizza. Don't forget to blow on it first. It's very hot.

More Mekayla-isms

1. Choo choo goes the train! (with hand gestures too)

2. This happens whenever Mommy bursts out in spontaneous singing now...

Mekayla: Shhhh.... Quiet..... O is sleeping.

Somehow, my 2 year old doesn't like my singing anymore. I didn't think it got that bad of late. Oh well. Nadia loves it still.

3. We're watching one of her programs on TV and it starts to rain on the show.

Mekayla: Wet! Wet!

Mommy: Yes it's wet. It's raining.

Mekayla (sounding puzzled): Rain???

Poor kid doesn't know what rain is coz she has lived in California all her life where it only rains 3 months out of the year.

4. Mekayla: (sniffs her feet - sniff, sniff) Eeewwww! Stinky feet!

Passes feet to Mommy for her to take a whiff.

Mekayla: (while Mommy is sniffing her feet) No Mommy! No! Stinky feet!

Mommy: Eeewww! Stinky feet!

This is a little "stinky feet" game that we play. She actually has the sweetest smelling feet ever.

5. On her play phone...


Mekayla: Hi! Yes.... YEESSS.... Mmm hmmm.... Fine.... Bye bye. (Hangs up)

or


Mekayla: Hi Po Po (grandma in Chinese). Me Baby. blah blah blah (baby talk). Mommy here.

(Passes the phone to me. I pretend talk. Pass the phone back to her). Bye bye. (Hangs up)

I would seriously pay good money to know what goes on in that little head sometimes.

Mekayla's Introductions

Here's how Mekayla's been introducing people:

Looks down at Nadia in the crib....
Mekayla: Hi Mei Mei (little sister in Chinese).
(Points to herself) Me Baby.
(Points to Daddy) Me Daddy.
(Points to Mommy) Me Mommy.

Well, she got the people right... Just need to work on the pronouns a bit more but oh so very, very cute.

Goats, Chickens, Ponies, Oh My...

Goats, chickens, ponies, Oh My.... And puppies too!

It was quite the Animal Planet weekend for the Hamiltons. It all started Saturday with a trip to Gilroy Gardens. Their seasonal attraction this month was Country Fair featuring country music, BBQ lunch buffet and of course, a petting zoo with pony rides. Oh we must let Mekayla ride a pony. She would love to do that. She'd been on the carousel horse at Gilroy Gardens before and it was ever so cute when she started saying "Yee haw" before the ride started.

So we get there, and we fish out $5 for the petting zoo and $10 for the pony ride. Yes, $10 for a 5 minute pony ride plus photo op with your own camera. They say that the money goes to caring for the animals and they did look healthy (the goats most of all) so, okay. The petting zoo had tons of goats, chickens, ducks, a pig, a goose and some bunnies. She had a blast but man those goats really do eat anything... Goat food, duck food, chicken food, they really don't care. A few of them were a little too interested in checking out to see if Nadia was edible (she was in my Moby wrap) and I saw one of them trying to nibble on some kid's sweater. Fortunately, we escaped unscathed.

Then on Sunday, as we were getting ready for yet another Ikea trip (for on-going home organizational stuff), Carter walks in with a little Chihuahua puppy in his arms. Now for those of you who know us well, you know we are not fans of those little ratty, yappy things. But I must say, most puppy anything is cute and this little guy was no exception. Norbert is freaking out, Mekayla is all excited "Wooo puppy!" and I'm going "Where did you get this guy from?" (slightly concerned). Turns out a mommy Chihuahua was walking around the neighborhood with her troop of 3 puppies and this one just scampered into our garage to say Hi! So, Carter picked him up and brought him in to see Mekayla (mommy Chihuahua was quite worried). They looked hungry so we led them to a corner of our front yard, gave them some kibble and let Mekayla make friends while we got ready to leave. It was quite the highlight of her day. I must add to the mommy Chihuahua's credit, she is the nicest, most mellow one of that breed I had ever met (and that is rare). Most of them are nasty little noisy ankle chompers. But she was sweet and nothing fazed her including Carter carrying off her puppy and Mekayla playing and messing around with them.

Well, without further ado, here are some pictures:

Yee haw!

They have the biggest bunnies I've ever seen.

Gotta have a cute shot of Nadia.

Puppies!!!

Ohhh.... Unagiii....

So, a few days after the "What's missing?" conversation, I tell Carter what Mekayla's been chatting about, and the subject of the puzzling "What's missing?" episode comes up. He gets a confused, thoughtful look on his face and then he says...

"Well, I was playing Dora Play-Doh with her sometime back and I was setting up the play set like it looks on the box except I couldn't find the the thing Dora stands on so I said "Something's missing.". Then I realized that it was the bridge so I said "We're missing the bridge!" and I dig in the bin for the bridge...."

Ohhh..... Unagi.... Another mystery solved.

Something's Missing

This conversation happens at the most random times... When she's finger painting, in the mall, walking in Gilroy Gardens, etc...

Mekayla: Something's missing.
Mommy: What's missing?
Mekayla: Missing a bridge!
Mommy: Missing a bridge?

(huh???)

Sing Sweet Mekayla

Mekayla sang all of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star while we were in the car on the way to Costco to great cheering and applause. She even had the hand movements to match. All in all, she did it once with 2 encores today including one for Daddy when he got home.

She also did a bit of Row Row Row Your Boat in the car, and has been known to do a bit of "Sing sweet nightingale" from Cinderella in the bath. That one is hard to catch coz it kind of sounds more like "Swing swing a dale, swing swing a dale." She is probably not going to be belting out ballads anytime soon but we are so very, very proud of her.

Now the big challenge... Getting it on video.

The Kids in Pictures

I don't feel like writing much so here's some pictures. Besides they say a picture says a thousand words so enjoy!

Nadia in her swing.



Mekayla joins in the action.



Mekayla playing in her water fountain/pool thingy. Hmm... I don't think it officially has a name.





Hmm... This gymini is a fun place to hang out.



This was very sweet. Mekayla put the blanket on Nadia then sat down beside her to watch Playhouse Disney.



The sandbox with the crazy expensive sand.



Bath time in the Hamilton home is always more fun with bubbles.



And of course, we couldn't leave Norbert out.

A New Caped Crusader in Town

We have a new superhero in town.... Her name is Super Mekayla. For the last 2 or 3 nights after her bath, Daddy will dry her down and then put her hooded towel on the top of her head. Then for the next 5 minutes, she will run butt naked around the house, cape flapping boldly behind her, shouting, "To the rescue!" Tonight, she even had the right hand raised to the sky Superman gestures. We got a bit of it on video. She seems to get all bashful and refuses to participate when the camera or video camera comes out so we've got some truely rare footage folks.

Putting on her diaper and PJs has become a great challenge for the caped crusader and her exhausted parents who tirelessly chase her around the house before an accident happens. However, tonight, through a stroke of genius on mommy's part, Super Mekayla did not have to put on her PJs but donned a Super Suit instead (diapers are non-negotiable superhero items for a 2 year old, I'm afraid). They were even in red, white and blue superhero colors.

This is a new and interesting phase in her life and we are totally enjoying it (as exhausting as it can be sometimes). Her last bath towel was a puppy dog one and she proceeded to run around the house in her towel panting and woofing like a puppy. She was even giving out slobbery puppy kisses. Incidentally, our new "puppy" arrived the night after Molly came over to spend the day.

Daniel San... Paint the Fence

Today was paint the fence day... Well, more like stain the fence day. For those of you who don't know, we recently got a new fence. To commemorate this momenteous occasion, we decided to stain it. It helps keep its nice color and helps the wood stay good longer, blah blah... Finally, after months of deciding on what type of stain, water or oil-based, what color, Cedar or Transparent Redwood, we finally made a choice and today was the day. Basically, it was a LOT of work.... Let me re-emphasize a LOT. The close to 100 degree weather did not help either but we were able to get 2 sides of the fence done. Flashes of Karate Kid dialogue flashed through my mind... "Daniel San... Paint the fence... Up down. No left right."

We got help from the older 2 Clark boys, Rayden and Matthew who did a wonderful job. I'm sure the $10/hr per person we promised them and a free lunch helped provide motivation. By the time we were done, all 4 of us were "painted" in stain and sweat. Here's snippets from the conversation that transpired as I was driving the boys home:

"I'm going to throw this t-shirt away."

and

"I don't think I'm going out anymore today. I think I'm just going to go home and sit on the sofa all day."

And I totally believed them.

Here's some pictures I took of the guys working:

After we were showered and clean, because we felt we weren't tortured enough, Carter and I decided to take Mekayla to The Jungle Island to let her expend some of her pent up energy from being cooped up alone in the house all day watching Playhouse Disney and Noggin. She had a great time but the whole time we were there, the only thing that went through my mind was "Germs!!! Germs!!!" It didn't help that we found cat poop in the outdoor sand pit that she was playing in. ARRGGHHH!!!! And the staff was like, "Oh where is it? Okay thanks." Picks up poop with a dustpan and tosses it in the nearby trash. Whatever... It's just cat poop

That brings me to my next point. Why do we do things like this? We spend hundreds of dollars on a sandbox and nice clean pretty safe sand for Mekayla to play with and what do we do? We go to The Jungle Island so she can play with sand there. Not just any sand. Icky, rough sand with cat poop in it. It's craziness. Oh but she had so much fun.

Well, here's some pictures of Mekayla playing at The Jungle Island:

Here's the grand finale, a brief, not very clear video of Nadia that I took while Mekayla played:

That's My Girl

Today, Mekayla got her first set of art supplies (besides crayons). We took a trip to Toys R Us and got her an easel, finger paints, markers and paper. Here's pictures of her painting and some of her original creations that she did today.





























Anyways, the point of this is that after she was done painting, I let her have her markers which she proceeded to carry around the house in it's open case. At some point, she drops them all over the floor and says this, "Up-A-Deesies (Oopsey Daisies). Messy.... Keep Up, Keep Up (Clean up, clean up)." And picks up each marker and puts them back into the case. :) That's my girl...

Incidentally, we've spent hundreds of dollars sending her to Gymboree classes... The single best thing she has learnt there, I think, is cleaning up... After each activity, they sing the "Clean Up" song and put the items (maracas, musical instruments, finger puppets, etc) away. For the unfamiliar, it goes something like:

Clean up, clean up
Everybody, Everyone
Clean up, clean up
Everyone let's do your share.

Being a "smart" mommy, I brought that back home... So, now, we'll "keep up" her Play Doh and blocks while happily sing, "Keep up, keep up. Keep your share. Keep your share." Brilliant. That's my girl.

Poops... I did it again

This pretty much sums things up almost every day. Nadia has a natural talent of making the most ferocious bowel movements known man. And at the worst times... While she is eating. Result = Mommy gets pooped on too. The all time poop record so far has been 3 in 30 minutes... 2 of which resulted in a blowout of epic proportions.

Tonight we had the misfortune of having one right as she was she was going to bed. Tell me, how does a creature so little make so much poop? I'm sure I learnt somewhere that it is physically impossible to create matter out of nothing. My daughter defies the laws of physics.

Mekayla Cuteisms

1. Mekayla counting, “1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, nanoo*, 8, 9, 10.” *nanoo = don’t know.
   
2. “Why so sad O? Why so sad?”, says Mekayla eating ham on her high chair while Norbert looks on with puppy dog eyes. BTW, O is what she calls Norbert; adapted from his howl “Arrwoooo”.
   
3. Mekayla drops her little ball from her high chair and thinks Norbert is going to eat it:
   Mekayla: No O, no O… Stop stop. Daddy, daddy, help help.
   Daddy comes to pick up the ball.
   Mekayla: Yay. Go! Daddy Go!
   
4. Mekayla as she’s slipping around on her water play mat, “Steady, steady… Careful, careful…”
   
5. Mekayla’s new dance style: An adaptation of Happy Feet meets River Dance. You’ve got to see it to really appreciate it.
   
6. Mekayla has had the biggest challenge saying “fish”. .. It use to sound a lot like “sh*t”. Well, Trader Joe’s has this giant underwater mural… So here’s Mekayla:
   Points to one fish, “Sh*t.”
   Points to another fish, “More sh*t.”
   Points to a different fish, “Big sh*t.”
   No trips to the aquarium for a while.
   
7. Mekayla says to Nadia while Nadia’s crying, “ Sshhh. Ssshhhh. O sleeping. O sleeping.”
   
8. Mekayla telling the plastic Easter eggs which are too high for her to reach, “Come down eggs. Come down eggs.”
   
9. Conversation that transpired with mommy the first time she saw cars on a fly over:
   Mekayla: Car! Car! Up there! Up there!
   Mommy: Yes there’s cars up there on the fly over.
   Mekayla: Car fly??
   
10. Mekayla whenever we’ve had large plates of food arrive at the table in a restaurant, “Wow… Awesome….”

Mekayla Loves Me!

This happened while I was at sewing class. So sweet...

Mekayla : I'm sad.
Daddy: Why are you sad?
Mekayla: Mommy.

She missed me!!! Yay!!!

Busy Busy Day

Phew. Today has been a busy, busy day... First was sewing class till 1ish. Then I came home, fed the baby, had lunch, went to the car wash, Costco, returned an item at Carter's, came home, fed the baby, put the groceries away, prepped some stuff for lunch tomorrow, stained Mekayla's new table from Ikea, finished prepping tomorrow's lunch, finish staining the table (1st coat). Somewhere in there, Mekayla peed all over the floor and sofa, there were 2 poopy diapers from Nadia and I have yet to get a chance to wash her poopy explosion off her PJs from this morning. I am stealing a few minutes to write this then we have to put the kids to bed, eat dinner and hopefully then, sit down and chill... Phew. Thinking about it makes me tired all over again.

I learned a lot from sewing class this morning which isn't hard since I pretty much know almost zero about sewing and my sewing machine. I did piece a quilt together once when I first got the machine but there were a lot of oppses involved. I felt like such a noob (a.k.a. noobie, newbie, someone who's totally new and clueless). Just the littliest things impressed the heck out of me. One lady there had this monstrous computerized quilting sewing machine. It could sew stitches up, down, left, right, diagonal, upside-down - pretty much any way you wanted. Everything was push button and it had this giant touch screen display with a stylus!!! It could very well cook and make coffee too!

In case you couldn't tell from "Mekayla peed all over the floor and sofa", potty training is not going so well right now. I'm getting bad flashbacks from when we toilet-trained the dog. We might need to re-evaluate our strategy.

Ugh. I hear Carter getting the girl's baths ready. Here we go...

Yesterday's Fire

So, yesterday was a rather eventful day in our little pocket of the world. The girls and I had gotten home from Gymboree and lunch with daddy and were taking a nap. Yes, that's right a nap. A wonderful hour I savored the rest of that day.... However, my glorious slumber was rudely awaken by the sounds of a helicopter flying so low over the house that the entire structure shook. It seemed low enough to try to land in my backyard. I tried ignoring it hoping and praying that the girls would continue sleeping. Then came the sirens. And then more helicopters trying to land on my house!

Okay now I'm freaking out. There's something going on nearby and helicopters could mean 1. There's something news worthy happening (but I didn't think news helicopters were allowed to fly so low). 2. They are looking for a fugitive in which case I better wake the heck up. 3. It's an insanely hot day (in the 100s perhaps?) and there could be a fire nearby in which case I better wake the heck up. So I bounce off the sofa, and look out the front living room window. Nothing but clear blue skies. I look out the back dining room window. Ack!!! Plumes and plumes of smoke really nearby. So I run upstairs to the master bedroom, open the window and look! There's one of those helicopters with the big baskets dumping hundreds of gallons of water over all that smoke! This is both wonderfully exciting and terrifying at the same time. So, what do I do, I run downstairs to grab the camera. This is too cool!

At some point, Mekayla wakes up. So, there we are, Mekayla, Norbert and me both looking out the window at the smoke and the helicopter (which she calls a plane). I take pictures of the helicopter, Mekayla watching the helicopter, Norbert watching the helicopter and getting all growly and Busy Bill going to check out the fire behind that one neighbor's house. It's cute but everytime the helicopter flies off, Mekayla will say, "Bye bye plane! Bye bye plane!" BTW, Busy Bill is a guy that lives somewhere behind us. He likes to know what's going on in the neighborhood and goes around checking things out. The house you see in the 2nd picture is pretty much right in front of his. Anyways, here are some pictures. BTW, if you notice specks on the pictures, it's from my rather dirty windows. Please try to ignore them...



I'm not sure if you can tell but this fire is really close by. It is just round the corner from my house. Carter walked by when he got home to see what the deal was. Turns out there was a brush fire (there's a big empty grass lot behind those homes) and the brush fire spread to 2 of the homes there. (sad) The police guy said at that time that they were investigating the fire and they think it's arson. Yikes. I wonder about my neighborhood sometimes.

Anyways, closer to the home front. I'm taking my 1st sewing class tomorrow... Yes, Carter bought me a sewing machine for my birthday in 2007 and I'm finally taking my sewing class. MJ's latest cute word is "Awesome". We had dinner at Black Angus last night and when the giant appetizer platter arrived, she said, "Wow.... Awesome." So very adorable. Nadia is smiling buckets and has even laughed a few times at some of the whacky things we do for her. She's probably thinking my parents are nuts! She used to do this cute thing where everytime she saw you she'd smile and coo and coo and this would go on and on for minutes. She's just stopped doing that which has totally broken my heart. (sob) Now she coos at the fan and fish in her swing... ??


Also, we are starting potty training tomorrow. Are we prepared? I don't know... We bought 2 potties. Does that count? 1 to keep at home and 1 travel potty. A lot of good stories should come out of this one. I don't know why but the thought of it just terrifies me. All I can say is God bless us... Everyone.